INDEPENDENTREFERENCEGSGS Pay TablesWhat the federal pay tables mean 2026 edition
Effective January 2026

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St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL$104,017a year$3,987.20Every two weeks$49.84Per hour$50.09Overtime hour#37On paper#22After prices
  1. GS pay scale 2026
  2. St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL

58 locality pay areasPage last changed 2026-10-22

St. Louis, MO GS pay scale 2026: 20.03% locality pay

In 2026 a GS-12 step 5 here earns $104,017 with 20.03% locality pay, and prices below the national average stretch it to what $109,390 buys elsewhere.

#37 on paper, #22 after prices

+15Places gained, of 57 priced areas.

Buys at U.S. prices

$109,390BEA price level 95.1, for St. Louis, MO-IL.

Ceiling watch

1 of 150GS-15 step 10 is held to $197,200.

Key facts

Locality pay change since 2016
+5.54 points
Pay gap, latest council estimate
46.09%
Rate the 1990 formula would set
39.13%
Federal civilian jobs, 2025
23,878
Share of all jobs here
1.67%
Largest county by federal jobs
St. Louis City, MO: 8,852
Sources and methods

Every 2026 rate

▲ marks the one cell cut to the $197,200 statutory ceiling. Reading these tables.
Grade12345678910
GS-127,10828,01628,91829,81530,71431,24132,13333,03133,06833,906
GS-230,47931,20432,21533,06833,43834,42135,40436,38737,37038,353
GS-333,25834,36735,47636,58537,69438,80339,91241,02142,13143,240
GS-437,33338,57839,82241,06742,31243,55644,80146,04647,29148,535
GS-541,76943,16244,55445,94647,33948,73150,12351,51652,90854,300
GS-646,56148,11349,66551,21752,76954,32155,87357,42558,97760,529
GS-751,74053,46555,19056,91558,63960,36462,08963,81465,53967,264
GS-857,30059,21061,11963,02964,93966,84868,75870,66872,57774,487
GS-963,28865,39867,50869,61971,72973,83975,94978,05980,16982,279
GS-1069,69472,01774,33976,66278,98581,30783,63085,95288,27590,597
GS-1176,57379,12681,67984,23286,78589,33891,89194,44496,99799,550
GS-1291,77994,83897,898100,957104,017107,076110,136113,195116,255119,315
GS-13109,137112,775116,413120,052123,690127,328130,966134,604138,242141,880
GS-14128,967133,267137,566141,866146,165150,465154,764159,064163,363167,663
GS-15151,699156,756161,812166,869171,926176,983182,040187,097192,154197,200
Annual rate divided by 2,087 hours (5 U.S.C. 5504(b)), as in OPM’s hourly table.
Grade12345678910
GS-112.9913.4213.8614.2914.7214.9715.4015.8315.8416.25
GS-214.6014.9515.4415.8416.0216.4916.9617.4417.9118.38
GS-315.9416.4717.0017.5318.0618.5919.1219.6620.1920.72
GS-417.8918.4819.0819.6820.2720.8721.4722.0622.6623.26
GS-520.0120.6821.3522.0222.6823.3524.0224.6825.3526.02
GS-622.3123.0523.8024.5425.2826.0326.7727.5228.2629.00
GS-724.7925.6226.4427.2728.1028.9229.7530.5831.4032.23
GS-827.4628.3729.2930.2031.1232.0332.9533.8634.7835.69
GS-930.3231.3432.3533.3634.3735.3836.3937.4038.4139.42
GS-1033.3934.5135.6236.7337.8538.9640.0741.1842.3043.41
GS-1136.6937.9139.1440.3641.5842.8144.0345.2546.4847.70
GS-1243.9845.4446.9148.3749.8451.3152.7754.2455.7057.17
GS-1352.2954.0455.7857.5259.2761.0162.7564.5066.2467.98
GS-1461.8063.8665.9267.9870.0472.1074.1676.2278.2880.34
GS-1572.6975.1177.5379.9682.3884.8087.2389.6592.0794.49
Hourly rate times 80 (5 U.S.C. 5504(b)).
Grade12345678910
GS-11,039.201,073.601,108.801,143.201,177.601,197.601,232.001,266.401,267.201,300.00
GS-21,168.001,196.001,235.201,267.201,281.601,319.201,356.801,395.201,432.801,470.40
GS-31,275.201,317.601,360.001,402.401,444.801,487.201,529.601,572.801,615.201,657.60
GS-41,431.201,478.401,526.401,574.401,621.601,669.601,717.601,764.801,812.801,860.80
GS-51,600.801,654.401,708.001,761.601,814.401,868.001,921.601,974.402,028.002,081.60
GS-61,784.801,844.001,904.001,963.202,022.402,082.402,141.602,201.602,260.802,320.00
GS-71,983.202,049.602,115.202,181.602,248.002,313.602,380.002,446.402,512.002,578.40
GS-82,196.802,269.602,343.202,416.002,489.602,562.402,636.002,708.802,782.402,855.20
GS-92,425.602,507.202,588.002,668.802,749.602,830.402,911.202,992.003,072.803,153.60
GS-102,671.202,760.802,849.602,938.403,028.003,116.803,205.603,294.403,384.003,472.80
GS-112,935.203,032.803,131.203,228.803,326.403,424.803,522.403,620.003,718.403,816.00
GS-123,518.403,635.203,752.803,869.603,987.204,104.804,221.604,339.204,456.004,573.60
GS-134,183.204,323.204,462.404,601.604,741.604,880.805,020.005,160.005,299.205,438.40
GS-144,944.005,108.805,273.605,438.405,603.205,768.005,932.806,097.606,262.406,427.20
GS-155,815.206,008.806,202.406,396.806,590.406,784.006,978.407,172.007,365.607,559.20
Source: OPM 2026 General Schedule salary table for this area, Salary Table 2026-SL, matched cell by cell; compare with Rest of U.S..

After local prices

Its neighbors by what it buys (how; all 57).
#LocalityOn paperPrice levelWhat it buys
19Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice, TX$101,93792.7$109,999
20Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI$113,402103.6$109,467
21Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI$106,08896.9$109,440
22St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL$104,01795.1$109,390
23Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD$111,781102.6$108,997
24San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall, TX$102,93494.7$108,676
25Richmond, VA$105,96797.9$108,286

Here it is utilities, not rent, that stand out: at 69.9, they are the lowest of the 57 areas with a price index.

BEA price levels, 2024, for the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area (how to read this table).
Kind of spendingHereU.S.Rank of 57
Goods100.099.6#22
Housing (rent)79.0100.6#51
Utilities69.998.4#57
Other services98.6100.1#35 (tied)
All items95.1100.0#45

Prices here have been rising more slowly than in the country as a whole: BLS consumer prices for the St. Louis, MO-IL area rose 2.9% in the twelve months to August 2026, the latest month BLS has for it, against 3.4% for the U.S. city average over the same months; to September 2026 the U.S. figure is 3.7%.

Locality pay since 2016

0%25%50%20162026
Dashed: the Rest of U.S. rate.
Percent, from OPM’s tables for 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026. Sources and caveats; every area since 2016: ten years of locality pay.
Locality pay, %20162017201820192020202120222023202420252026
St. Louis, MO14.4915.8316.4717.0517.6517.6518.3519.1019.6320.0320.03
Rest of U.S.14.3515.0615.3715.6715.9515.9516.2016.5016.8217.0617.06

St. Louis, MO has had a locality pay table of its own only since 2016; before that its counties were paid the Rest of U.S. rate.

In 2024 OPM added 13 counties in Illinois and Missouri to it, the fourth-most it added to any area.

The 1990 pay law’s formula

Formula 39.13%, paid 20.03%: 19.10 points apart (median 18.40); nine editions: table
The editions checked here, the memos for pay in 2018 to 2026. Sources: memo of January 10, 2025, Attachment 1, and the council’s earlier memos; the President’s Pay Agent on 2026; what these estimates are and are not; every area against the formula: how far pay is from the 1990 law.
Edition, for pay inData as ofListed asPay gap, %Formula rate, %Rate paid that year, %
2026March 2024Locality pay area46.0939.1320.03
2025March 2023Locality pay area50.0742.9220.03
2024March 2022Locality pay area45.4038.4819.63
2023March 2021Locality pay area47.8340.7919.10
2022March 2020Locality pay area46.0639.1018.35
2021March 2019Locality pay area47.7640.7217.65
2020March 2018Locality pay area49.5642.4417.65
2019March 2017Locality pay area50.5443.3717.05
2018March 2016Locality pay area53.0845.7916.47

Federal jobs

23,878 federal civilian jobs in 2025, 608 fewer than in 2024, down 2.48%: table
In this area’s 29 counties and 1 independent city, Postal Service in, military out; BLS, 2023, 2024, 2025. BLS has another 3,586 federal jobs in Illinois and Missouri with no county; the states page counts them with the state, not with any area. Sources and caveats; every area: where the federal jobs are.
YearFederal civilian jobsShare of all jobs, %Average pay per job
202324,2251.69$88,029
202424,4861.71$90,446
202523,8781.67$92,965

Counties

29 counties and 1 independent city paid at this rate

Illinois, 14 counties

  • Bond County
  • Calhoun County
  • Clinton County
  • Fayette County (added 2024)
  • Greene County (added 2024)
  • Jersey County
  • Macoupin County
  • Madison County
  • Marion County
  • Monroe County
  • Montgomery County (added 2024)
  • Randolph County (added 2024)
  • St. Clair County
  • Washington County (added 2024)

Missouri, 15 counties and 1 independent city

  • Crawford County (added 2024)
  • Franklin County
  • Gasconade County (added 2024)
  • Iron County (added 2024)
  • Jefferson County
  • Lincoln County
  • Madison County (added 2024)
  • Montgomery County (added 2024)
  • Pike County (added 2024)
  • St. Charles County
  • St. Francois County
  • St. Louis County
  • St. Louis city
  • Ste. Genevieve County (added 2024)
  • Warren County
  • Washington County (added 2024)
Source: OPM 2026 locality pay area definitions.